President Bush Thursday designated six captives in the war on terror as eligible to be tried before U.S. military commissions, the Defense Department said.

"The president determined that there is reason to believe that each of these enemy combatants was a member of al Qaeda or was otherwise involved in terrorism directed against the United States," the Pentagon said in a statement.

Senior defense officials, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, declined to discuss many details of the process. They refused to identify the six individuals by name or even by nationality, saying no charges have yet been brought against them, and said their identities may never be announced.

The Pentagon was next to decide whether the men will be brought to trial before commissions and on what charges, the officials said.

Can you say "banana republic?" Can you say "Soviet Union?" Sure ain't America.